Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking theRockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for theRockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.
No. 3o, Victor Vodnik (0.1 rWAR)
RHP Victor Vodnik first arrived in Denver via trade at the deadline
in 2023 when the Colorado Rockies traded pitcher Pierce Johnston to the Atlanta Braves.
At the time, Vodnik was Atlanta’s #10 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline. As Skyler Timmins wrote,
Vodnik, 23, was originally drafted by the Braves in the 14th round of the 2018 draft out of Rialto High School in California. In five minor league seasons, he has a 3.48 ERA in 99 games and has primarily worked specifically out of the bullpen since 2022. Vodnik is currently having one of his best seasons so far with the Double-A Mississippi Braves, posting a 3.10 ERA across 40 2⁄3 innings in 30 games. He boasts a 12.4 K/9 this season but can struggle with walks at a 5.5 BB/9 rate. He features a primary mix of a fastball and changeup, with his fastball able to occasionally reach triple digits.
In his three years with the Rockies, Vodnik saw plenty of action. After pitching just 8.2 innings in 2023, he had 73.2 IP (4.28 ERA) in 2024, 50.2 IP (3.02 ERA) in 2025, and 36.0 (5.25 ERA) in 2026 before being traded to the Miami Marlins. (He spent more than a month on the Injured List early in the season with right ulnar nerve inflammation and returned to the Rockies on June 15.)
Cory Cohen wrote, “The hard-throwing right-hander has shown glimpses of closer-like stuff but has struggled with consistency in parts of four seasons for Colorado.”
According to Baseball Savant, Vodnik features a six-pitch mix, relying most heavily on his four-seam fastball (45.6%), his slider (27.7%), and his changeup (14.8%). In 2026, he began using his slider more, a pitch with a 33.6% Whiff%. As James Riggenbach explained in July, Vodnik’s slider evolved at the expense of his changeup.
He also finished the season with a 56.5% GB%.
No one doubted the stuff — Vodnik regularly hit 98.5 mph with his four-seamer. However, the control was erratic. A 6.50 K/9 (the worst of his career) could not outweigh his 4.75 BB/9.
Presumably, the Marlins hoped they could fix what altitude and Rockies player development could not.
It helps, too, that Vodnik saw significant improvement over the course of the season. In March-April, he tallied a 7.82 ERA that rose to 8.44 in May. However, June and July saw significant improvement as Vodnik posted a 2.84 and a 2.53 ERA, respectively, in both months. Given that his road ERA was 3.82 compared to 6.31 at Coors, it’s easy to see what the Marlins are hoping for.
After arriving in Miami, Vodnik wracked up 22.2 IP and earned a 4.37 ERA — so better but not amazing.
Put him down as a work in progress.
Why did the Rockies trade him? Probably for two reasons. First, Vodnik’s trade value was high — less high than it was in 2025 but high enough that moving him in August made sense. Second, his inconsistency was never going to play with a team committing to not giving up walks.
Now to see how things go with Miami.
The trade deadline is a strange time in an MLB clubhouse. The players, like everyone else, are on edge, waiting to see if they will be moved and where that place might be. Everything is distraction.
Vodnik’s trade was announced just as the clock was running out. After a player is traded, their things are removed almost immediately from the clubhouse. When media entered the Rockies clubhouse following the Rockies game against the Tampa Bay Rays, no trace remained of Brenton Doyle, Antonio Senzatela, or Victor Vodnik, and their lockers were already occupied by former teammates.
I wondered how it had happened so quickly.
That night as I was leaving Coors Field, I waited at the light to cross 20th Street. The Rockies had lost to the Rays, 13-9, and a thin crowd was long gone. Across the street, I saw someone else waiting to cross. The light changed, and we started across. Then I realized as I was leaving Coors, Victor Vodnik was headed back, presumably to collected this things and officially finish his time as a Rockie.
In the middle of the street, we said, “Hello,” exchanged fist bumps, and I wished him good luck in Miami.
Then it was over — just like Vodnik’s time with the Rockies.
Such is baseball.
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